By Michael Stets
ALLEN PARK–With their final pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Lions stayed within Michigan in the seventh round and selected Eastern Michigan defensive end Pat O’Connor with the 250th pick overall.
O’Connor, who missed the entire 2015 season with a shoulder injury, rebounded nicely in 2016 with 42 tackles and 8.5 sacks for the Eagles. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end helped Eastern Michigan earn a bowl game with a 7-6 record after posting a disastrous 1-11 record in 2015.
With the draft winding down on Saturday evening, O’Connor’s chances of getting drafted were waning considerably, right up until his luck changed at pick No.250. That’s when he was selected by the Lions three picks shy of becoming “Mr. Irrelevant,” which is the dubious honor of being the last pick of the entire NFL draft.
The unheralded defensive end explained what was going through his mind before being selected by the Lions at pick No.250.
“Leading up to it I was kind of worried about it, but I kind of stayed humble for the whole experience I’ve been going through this,” O’Connor said in a conference call with local reporters. “Just leading up to every pick, kind of staying humble with my family telling me that everything is all good. You know it will all work out in the end and then being called by the Lions, it was kind of a dream come true, kind of made my dream become a reality. So it kind of turned my downside of possibly not being drafted to being drafted.”
O’Connor, a Chicago, Ill. native, who attended Saint Rita High School along with Lions’ third-round draft pick Kenny Golladay, turned in a solid performance at the team’s local pro day, which is one of the main reasons he was selected on the third day of the draft.
“The local pro day was great,” he said. “I performed to the best of my ability. Being able to perform in front of Coach Kris (Kocurek) and work with him and just showcase my ability. And then after that I had a visit with them. I was able to meet with the whole coaching staff and then showed my personal side from the football side. It was fantastic.”
Detroit is about 40 miles East of Ypsilanti, but O’Connor gets to stay in Michigan, which is something that he’s very excited about.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “Every opportunity I get I’m going to attack with full force and give it my all. And being close to home for me certainly is a surreal moment as well. I don’t have to move that far and that’s something that means a lot to me.”
O’Connor received some great insight from coach Kocurek on what the team has to offer, and what he needs to do to ensure he makes the final roster. And what was he told? “Just work hard,” he answered.
“I’m just going to do everything I can right now to put myself in the position where I can make the team.”